Help Me Heal
by Feline Alchemist
Summary: What seemed like a normal outing to the grocery store for Toni and Lovino quickly turned to disaster, changing both of their lives forever. Now it's a question of how they will help each other heal. WARNING: some gore, Lovino's swearing


**A/N: **Yet another RP between myself and AwesomelikePrussia! Again she was Romano and I was Spain, but this is the longest thing either of us has ever written! O.o So! We both hope you enjoy it, and reviews would be well appreciated!

~oOo~

"Stupid bastard, making me wait thirty minutes for him in the fucking car," Romano grumbled as he stomped towards the entrance of the store, "What could be taking so damn long?" He asked himself snappishly, not to mention rhetorically. He walked through the automatic doors of the grocery, scowling.

He glanced around pointedly and couldn't see hide nor tail of Antonio, so he made his way further into the store to stalk the isles, ready to hunt himself a tomato bastard. He checked the pasta/sauce isle first, expecting to find him immediately, but was a bit shocked to find it empty, only an old woman browsing Alfredo sauces.

His scowl softened slightly as he continued to walk around. He made his way towards the fruits and vegetable section on the other side of the store; maybe he was picking out tomatoes? His hand itches for the cell phone in his pocket, but he decided against it, and attempted to look for the stupid tomato idiot first.

He picked up the pace, headed towards the fresh produce isle and give Toni an earful about taking his sweet-ass time gawking over stupid tomatoes. He sped past isle after isle, skidding to a stop as his ears caught someone singing something in Spanish, and very upbeat. He looked up at the sign hanging above his head. The dessert isle?

He cautiously made his way towards the singing, and he wasn't surprised to see the tomato idiot singing quietly in front of a basket, looking around the isle carefully.

Antonio bounced on his heels, scanning the rows of sweets and pastry mixes, searching for the last item on his list, something special for his little Lovi. He was so obsorbed in his mission that he had no clue that the irate Italian was even in the store, let alone behind him, as his arm reached towards the shelf closest to him, the desired item just in sight-

Scowling deeply, Lovino caught the Spaniard's attention by clearing his throat loudly.

Antonio's arm snapped back, curling in towards his chest in suprise. HE spun around and nearly dropped his basket slung over his other wrist, cheeks dusting a light pink. "L-Lovi! Q-Que paso mi amor?" he tried to casually comb the offending arm through his hair, acting nonchalant.

Lovino held back a chuckle, trying to keep his face neutral, "Just wondering what the fuck was taking you so damn long."

The Spaniard's slight fear at being discovered dissipated as Lovino almost laughed, and he dropped his arm to his side. "I was just, eh, you know...Leaving?" even he thought that was a pitiful answer.

An eyebrow was raised, "Really?" It was asked sarcastically, and the word was dragged out in obvious disbelief.

"Hehe, si! Si, I was just coming to meet you!" he grinned widely and closed his eyes, hoping his ruse would hold and Lovi would drop it and go back to the car.

Lovino crossed his arms, "Mm-hmm. Okay. Sure. I'm giving you ten minutes to get the fuck out of here before I come back in and drag you out."

Holding back chuckles, he walked out of the isle and made his way towards the front of the store.

Barely managing to hold in his sigh of relief, Antonio open his eyes wide, clicked his heels together and raised a stiff arm to his forehead in a mock-salute. "Yes sir, tomate!" giggling as Lovino rolled his eyes and walked out of the isle. Whew, that had been close...he thought to himself. He quickly grabbed the last item he had been searching for, the last one on his list and buried under the pile of other items on his list, skipping ahead to the checkout line.

Lovino walked out of the automatic doors, lips twitching into a small smile at Antonio's antics. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, chuckling quietly as he made his way towards the bitter, cold air. Breathing out a sigh, he opened the passenger door and climbed inside, careful not to hit his head on the doorway.

Antonio approached the register, leaning back to see that Lovino was out of sight before he unloaded his various items onto the counter, the special one being placed on top. He rocked back and forth nervously on his heels, glancing out every now and then to make sure Lovi wasn't watching him.

Lovino pulled his phone out of his pocket, the seat-belt already strapped against his chest. He kicked his feet up onto the dashboard, checking his facebook on a whim. Seeing no interesting posts, he sighed quietly before checking his texts. Oh look, a new text from Feliciano. Lovino was bored already, dammit.

The steady stream of beeps from the register had finally ceased, and Toni snapped his head back towards the cashier, giving her a wide eyed look, gaining a wink from the young girl as she gestured to the special item, put in a paper bag instead of see-though plastic. Antonio blushed slightly, taking all the bags into his arms and giving the woman a hearfelt, "Gracias," as he made his way towards the car with a waiting Lovino sitting inside.

Lovino tapped his fingers against his thigh, glancing up when Antonio rapped the window with his fist, and he rolled his eyes when Antonio gave a grin and waved with his free hand.

The Spaniard laughed lightly and walked around to the trunk, depositing the bags inside and coming back around to hop into the driver's seat. He whipped out his keys and inserted the key, a tomato keychain dangling happily from the car's ignition. He reached over to ruffle Lovino's hair as he backed out of the parking spot, not bothering to put his seatbelt on as he laughed again. "Aww, what's the matter now Lovi?"

"Dammit, idiot, put on your seatbelt before we get in a wreck and get killed," Lovino snapped as he brushed his bangs out of his eyes, scowling deeply. "And don't touch my hair. Idiot," he added as an afterthought.

Anotnio blinked in surprise, not expecting the younger man to express worry for the Spaniard's health so openly. He obeyed immediately, pushing the breaks and reaching between and the center console for his seatbelt. Neither had time to react as something large an metal slammed into Antonio's side of the car, a shrill screech of metal on metal piercing the air.

Lovino's head smacked against the window on impact and the car skidded to the right a few feet. Blinking sluggishly after a few long moments of unconsciousness, Lovino looked around, his vision blurry. Why was he so tired...?

Antonio, who didn't have enough time to fasten his seatbelt before the collision, was for worse for wear than Lovino, who was stirring in the passenger seat. The Spaniard was unconscious, one of his arms obviously broken and wedged between the seats, his head having collided hard against Lovino's head rest and bleeding profusely from a gash somewhere on his scalp, staining Lovino's shirt a deep crimson.

"A-Antonio?" The shocked whisper broke the quiet of the car, the background sirens fading in and out of Lovino's hearing.

"Antonio!" The panic set in, and Lovino, in his panicked state, attempted to stop the bleeding.

"Please be okay, please...Por favor; be okay..."

As Antonio laid there, mangled and broken cradled in Lovino's shaking arms, he was confused. Confused because he couldn't move, couldn't open his eyes. It was dark, and he thought he heard a siren. A cop car? Firetruck maybe? Huh. There wasn't a fire anywere as far as the Spaniard could see. Then again, he couldn't see _anything_. The darkness was closing in around him, stealing away his breath and threatening to take him under again. He fought in his mind to hold on, bu he was helpless. Just before he slipped away again, his confusion grew. He could have sworn he heard his Lovino whispering to him...In Spanish...But he would never do that, would he?

Cursing, Lovino blinked away frustrated tears.

"Wake up, dammit! Open your fucking eyes!"

Lovino put more pressure on Antonio's wound. He looked around for something else to stop the bleeding. His hands were too bloody.

Lovino was frantic. The wound on Antonio's head wouldn't stop bleeding and he was running out of things to absorb it all with. He let out a shuddering breath as an ambulance tore into the parking lot, its sirens almost too much for Lovino's aching mind.

"Fuck," Lovino hissed, clenching his teeth. Ripping part of his shirt, he wrapped the strip of cloth around Antonio's head in a desperate attempt to try to stop the bleeding.

"Somebody help!" He yelled loudly, trying to catch the attention of the paramedics.

"Dammit, Antonio. You better fucking make it through this," Lovino's eyes narrowed, but he didn't quite manage a glare, staring down at Antonio's injured body.

Suddenly both doors of the car were being pried open, Antonio's required the jaws of life in its mangled state. One of the paramedics reached out to grab Antonio's limp, blood stained form as another gingerly placed his hands under Lovino's arms, attempting to gingerly remove him from the vehicle. Lovino tightened his grip on Antonio and snarled at the man trying to take him, eyes ablaze with a look that said, "You fucking save this man's life or I will KILL you."

Lovino looked somewhat satisfied with the look of fear and the hurried nod he got, and he allowed himself to be lifted out of the car. His vision was swarming with bright lights and his hearing with loud sounds. He winced.

As much pain as he was in himself, Lovino never took his eyes off the Spaniard, who was being carried very carefully to the bed of one of the ambulances and being strapped to a gourney, a gaggle of paramedics inside checking Antonio's vitals and placing an oxygen mask over his motionless face. A worried look crossed one of the men's faces, but Lovino's view was severed before he could tell anything more.

Lovino was moved inot the ambulance, and the doors slammed shut before he could see anything else. Left with the image of the worried paramedic, all he could do was think about the possibilities while being treated. What if Antonio died...? No. No. Lovino refused to believe that, he absolutely REFUSED. Antonio wasn't dying. No fucking way. It wasn't possible...

...Was it? He shook his head to force his thoughts away, immediately regreeting it as his vision went white and his skull swam in pain. He could hardly register what was being done to him anymore, only having thoughts for Antonio. The pain in his head slowly leaked away, probably the effect of some painkiller the nurses had injected him with.

Lovino's surroundings seemed to fade out as he focused on keeping his thoughts optimistic, and he was trying not to focus on the morbid possibility that Anotnio would probably die, if not given treatment. But he was being treated, so he'd be fine. Right...?

Right. He was going to be fine. He just had to stop freaking out over 'what-if's. They would only upset him. He laid his head back, marveling at how comfortable the pillow beneath it was. So fluffy... No. He had to stay awake, for Antonio...

Gritting his teeth, Lovino attempted to sit up further so he could stay awake. He eventually found he wanted to hear Antonio's voice again, no matter what the fuck the tomato idiot – no, Antonio – said. Be it "Lovi" or "tomate", he just wanted to hear Antonio.

"Stay with us, you have a concussion, you have to stay awake," one of the paramedics was helping him to sit up, having noticed that he was about to lose consciousness, "Just hang in there, we are almost to the hospital."

Lovino wanted to snap at the paramedic, tell him that the damn concussion wasn't the reason he was staying awake. But he couldn't.

Lovino almost laughed as the hospital came into view through the front window of the ambulance, screeching to a halt as the peramedics all scrambled to get the Italian out of the car. Lovino didn't have any objections, he knew Antonio would be in there too, busy NOT DYING. Yep. Exactly that.

The pessimistic side of Lovino was doubtful, but he smothered the doubts, attempting to keep his eyes open.

Hmm, that last blink had lasted far longer than usual. Dammit Lovino, man the fuck up and stay awake! You have to be there to bitch at Antonio when he wakes up for not wearing his damn seatbelt!

If he wakes up. Dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit! Lovino fumed silent, inwardly glaring at himself. Stop being so damn pessimistic!

Lovino's gourney was wheeled into a white-washed room with equipment he didn't recognize lining one wall and a large, white metal tube across from the controls. "We have to give you an MRI, you are severely concussed. Just hang tight and don't panic." a man in a white coat and a face mask said to him calmly, snapping the rubber gloves on his hands. Fuck, he just wanted to see Antonio.

"Hurry the fuck up then," Lovino snapped at the doctor. He was growing impatient.

He ignored the doctor's shocked expression and allowed the paramedics to lead him to the MRI machine.

~OoO~

The next thing Antonio registered was a beep. A steady streem of beeping. What was he doing back at the grocery store? He had already left, he was sure of it! He tried to open his eyes, to no avail. But it wasn't like before, with the mysterious firetruck. Less...Suffocating. Beep. Beep. Beep. His head throbbed, and he couldn't feel his left arm. Hmm... There was that confusion again. He tried to open his eyes again, and this time they fluttered open weakly, revealing a stark white room. There were lots of blinking lights all around him, and a flurry of hands touching and prodding him everywhere. Beep. Beep. Beep. This wasn't the supermarket. Where the hell was it? His head throbbed again. Man, he had to stop doing that, dio mio, it really hurt! He looked down at his body before him. Huh. He coud've sworn he had worn a pale green shirt today, not read... Huh. Maybe he'd ask the cashier if she had seen him change shirts at any point for some reason.

~OoO~

Lovino scowled as he looked around the hospital room. White walls, white floor, white sheets. It was all so DULL. And he was so bored. He tried to get the nurse to tell him when Antonio was awake, but she hadn't a greed nor disagreed, only giving a mysterious smile before leaving the room. He'd only gotten a small concussion, gotten lucky, the doctors told him. He knew it could've been so much worse...

Like Antonio. As bad as Antonio, which he still has no idea about because nobody would fucking TELL him anything. He thought he was all done, they had done their tampering, hadn't they? He just wanted to see if Antonio was alright. No, he HAD to.

Growling, Lovino sat up, about to rip the fucking IV out of his wrist. Then he remembered that they didn't tell him which room Antonio was even fucking in, and his scowl grew deeper. Letting out a frustrated, and slightly loud yell-groan, he flopped back onto the pillows, crossing his arms. Dammit!

The white coats in the room turned around from out of their huddle to glare at him, then continued scribbling notes on their clipboards.

~OoO~

"Doctor! Doctor, he's regained consciousness!" a pretty young woman was frantically checking wires (wires? Antonio thought) running into Antonio's arms and some trailing up to his chest. Antonio blinked. "Are you at the supermarket too? I didn't see you earlier..." Antonio tried to say, it coming out more slurred than he'd intended. The one the woman had called doctor stared at him intensely, his eyes almost boring into him. "We aren't at the supermarket, you were in an accident. Do you know who you are? Do you remember what happened? Annie, give him 12 CC's of morphine." he turned to the nurse. Antonio thought for a moment. "Oh, accident. Ac-ci-dent. Hmm...Oh. **oh**. Shit, the accident! I have to go, I have to find Lovino!"

~OoO~

Lovino glared right back at the doctors, scowl growing deeper.

"Where's Antonio, you assholes?" He snapped, narrowing his eyes.

The leading doctor turned towards him again, approaching him slowly. "The other man in the car is severely injured, his left arm is shattered and he has possible brain damage. We cannot let you see him at the time, I'm sorry." Despite the frigidity of his words, there was sympathy in the man's eyes.

Lovino let out another frustrated groan. "Fuck. Isn't that just fucking great," he muttered under his breath sarcastically as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand, closing his eyes in an irritated manner. After a few moments, he sighed and opened his eyes, moving his hand back to his side, "Can you at least tell me if he's awake or not?"

The doctor wrinkled his brow at the man's colorful language and sighed. "I received a page a few minutes ago, stating that he's retaining consciousness, but you can't-" he didn't have time to finish his sentence before Lovino was off his bed, IV's ripped out and mind set on finding Antonio on his own, even if he had to search the entire fucking hospital room by room.

Lovino set off towards the reception desk to ask for Antonio's room number, and he'd be damned if he didn't get the number.

~OoO~

"Sir, please calm down, you're severely injured! Please stay in your bed, you aren't stable!" The doctor and nurses couldn't hold the Spaniard down despite his condition. "No! Yo necessito mi tomate! I have to find Lovino! Is he okay? Lovino! Tomate! LOVINO!"

Hearing the yell, Lovino turned his head to the right and hissed out a, "Fuck;" the yell had come from the end of the hall, and he was being chased after. Growling, he set off into a sprint.

"ANTONIO! YOU BETTER BE FUCKING GRATEFUL FOR THIS!" he screeched at the top of his lungs, narrowing his eyes at his target; Antonio's hospital room was less than fifteen feet away.

Antonio stopped flailing long enough to hear the ear splitting screech, and his eyes widened. He flopped back down on his bed, the doctors who had been trying to restrain him looking baffled. He could rest now, lay down his throbbing skull knowing that his Lovi was on his way.

The door slammed open, then shut, and Lovino was leaned against the door a few moments, breathing harshly with a pink face. He looked to the doctors, then at Antonio on the bed.

For a moment, nothing happened. The two just stared into each other's eyes, neither knowing what to say. Antonio broke the silence. "Mi tomate..."

"Antonio," Lovino ground the name between his teeth, and his eyes narrowed, his nostrils flaring slightly; a sure sign of actual anger and not just irritation.

"You...are a fucking _idiot_. Do you have any idea how _worried_ I was? I thought you were dead! Fucking. Dead!" Lovino snapped, and his voice was suprisingly even for someone going off in an angry rant.

The Spaniard's face contorted in confusion. "L-Lovino?" He loked down at his clasped hands laying in his lap, then looked back up at the furious Italian. "...Did you honestly think you were the only one who was scared?"

"No," Lovino snapped back, voice cracking.

Antonio didn't understand. "...Then why are you angry?"

"I...I...I just...I don't fucking know anymore."

Ah, it all clicked into place now. "Oh Lovi, come here..." he spread his arms wide and looked at the younger man expectantly.

Snapping his mouth shut, Lovino walked towards the bed, rubbing his eyes discreetly. Fuck, this was so embarrassing...

Antonio giggled lightly and wrapped his arms tightly around Lovino, whispering into his ear. "It's alright mi tomate, everything is alright now. I'm here, and so are you."

Lovino stayed quiet, just lookeing up at Antonio occassionally for a few moments of silence. …"I know."

"Good." Antonio smiled to himself and nuzzled his nose into Lovino's auburn hair, holding him tighter.

Lovino squirmed slightly, trying to get comfortable and slightly closer.

"Ah, Lovi, I think you're sitting on my IV..."

"Sorry," Lovino mumbled quietly while moving away from the IV.

"It's alright, I-" Antonio stopped; cut himself off, almost. His whole body froze and his eyes were wide and panicked, glued to the wall.

"Antonio?" Lovino furrowed his eyebrows, sitting up fully.

The Spaniard didn't respond, and Lovino could feel how tense all of Toni's muscles were. "I-I-I-" Antonio's brow furrowed. What was going on...?

What on earth..? "What's going on?" He turned towards the doctors.

They stared back, looks ranging from concern to confusion written on their faces. The head doctor stepped up and addressed Lovino. "He's having some sort of seizure, we have to run some tests. I...Don't know if you should be with him right now."

"A seizure?" Lovino ignored the last comment.

Antonio had stopped stuttering and was now clutching at Lovino's arm, eyes wide with confusion and fear. "Yes, a seizure." the doctor continued, "I'm not sure what type it is, so I'm not sure how long it will last or if there will be more."

Lovino glanced down, sighing quietly before looking back up at the head doctor. "Run some tests or something to figure out what the fuck is wrong."

The doctor closed his eyes and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Sire, that is our plan of action. In order to do that, you need to leave. He hasn't regained speech yet, it's not a good sign. We need to get started on texts right away." he gestured to the door.

"I was about to," Lovino sighed, getting off the bed and walking towards the door.

Antonio still hadn't spoken again, seemingly unable to. He reached out for the younger man as he stalked out, fingers slowly curling limply as the door slammed slightly. He mouthed a single word. Lovino...

Lovino leaned against the wall outside of the door, leaning against it and scooting downward slowly. Fuck. Why couldn't Antonio be okay again?

~OoO~

Hours slowly crept by, the clock across the room on the wall taunting Lovino with its horribly slow ticking. He'd been waiting for so long. How many fucking tests were they putting Toni through? Lovino jumped as a door opened down the hall and the head doctor emerged from Antonio's room.

Lovino noticed the doctor seemed to speed up a bit after seeing him.

"Wait-!"

The doctor stopped in his tracks and sighed audibly.

"How's Antonio?"

Lovino worried his lower lip with his teeth, a habit he had plunged into for the past five hours. He waited for the doctor's response, fiddling with his hands.

"We ran all the necessary tests, they are running through the system now, but he looks fine. He's stable now, his seizure broke about ten minutes after you left, and he had a second one that was more brief. You can... Go see him now, if you'd like. He's resting." He looked down at Lovino with an intense look of sympathy in his eyes.

Lovino's face remained neutral, and he nodded, moving around the doctor to get to Antonio's room quickly. He got close to the door, and hesitated for a few moments, his hand resting on the cool, metal door-handle. He told himself not to be a fucking wimp, and twisted the handle so the door opened, and he walked inside, closing the door behind himself quietly. He made his way over to Antonio's bedside, feet clapping quietly against the floor. Sighing, he sat down in the uncomfortably plastic chair beside the bed, seeing that Antonio was asleep.

It was too fucking real, all of it. It was a completely normal day before life decided to shit all over everything. They were at the grocery store for fuck's sake! And Antonio had been acting funny...

Lovino furrowed his eyebrows as he looked over at Antonio. Why had he been acting so fucking strange? Lovino hadn't really given a shit before, but now that he thought about it, his smile after Lovino had approached him was...nervous and less fucking stupid. Was...Was Antonio scared of him? Normally, Lovino would brush it off with an amused chuckle and a "yeah, fucking right", but he couldn't keep his mind off it.

Lovino was wrenched from the grasp of his thoughts by a creak in Antonio's mattress, the Spaniard blearily lolling his head to face Lovino and slowly opening his eyes. "Lovi?"

Lovino's head jerked up and he looked over at Antonio.

"...You're awake."

At first, Antonio looked confused, like that statement didn't make sense. After a moment he responded, slowly. "Si...I'm awake."

"Antonio..."

Lovino sighed quietly, rubbing his forehead before speaking again, quieter.

"...Are you afraid of me...?"

The Spaniard cocked his head to the side, sitting up a little higher in his bed and propping himself on his elbows. "Que? Why would you think that, tomate?" His brow wrinkled considerably.

Lovino kept quiet for a few minutes, looking down at his lap before looking back up at Antonio and admitting what was bothering him so fucking much.

"That fucking weird smile you gave me in the grocery after I got your attention..."

For a moment, Antonio's expression didn't change. Then his eyes widened suddenly, and they crinkled shut in a burst of bubbly laughter. "Oh Lovi, Lovi! I'm not afraid of you!" he continued to laugh.

Lovino's face contorted in confusion. "Huh?"

Antonio wiped a tear from his eyes and sighed. "Ah Lovi, mi tomate, come here." He curled his finger and wiggled it, gesturing for Lovino to move in closer. He whispered into the Italian's ear. "Go find our car, they should have towed it here by now. Get into the trunk and bring me the brown paper bag." When Lovino pulled away, face contorted in confusion, the Spaniard only winked.

"Okay...?" Lovino got up from the chair and walked out of the hospital room, padding down the hallway, eyebrows furrowed.

Antonio watched Lovino leave the room with a light smile, giggling to himself, imagining Lovino's reaction when he sees what the Spaniard had been so sneaky about.

Lovino made his way outside, blinking at the cherry red car. There's Toni's car...

But what the hell could be inside that was so important that Antonio had to be all fuckin' secretive about it? In his condition no less! Why did he put up with it at all...

Lovino sighed, pushing his thoughts away with a shake of his head before walking towards the car to yank the trunk open; he looked inside and spotted the brown bag on top of everything else (At least the eggs didn't appear to be broken, Lovino thought dryly) and he grabbed it before moving out of the way while reaching up to slam the trunk shut.

He made his way back into the hospital through the sliding doors. He had half a mind to shout at them, demand the reason they could open so freely and calmly after all the shit he'd been through today, but he decided against it. People would stare, and then he'd have to explode at them too, and his day would be worse than it already was. He shook his head again and sighed as he approached Toni's room.

He clutched the paper bag in his hand as he opened the door with the other and he shut the door behind himself.

Antonio looked up from where he was fiddling with one of the IV's in his injured wrist and smiled. "Ah bueno, you found it!"

"It wasn't hard to miss," Lovino replied moodily as he sat back down in the plastic seat. He opened the paper bag and pulled the item in question out.

"...Holy. Shit."

Antonio watched in giddy anticipation as Lovino pulled out a bar of 100% Italian dark chocolate and a box of Tiramisu, again 100% Italian.

"Holy fuck."

Well. This wasn't what he'd been expecting at all. It was a few months since he'd had chocolate...at all.

"Antonio. I love you."

Antonio's smile froze on his face, his eyes growing wide for the millionth time that day. "Oh Lovi, do you mean it?"

"Yes," And Lovino really did. He'd been meaning to admit it for such a long time now; he was such a coward. But when Antonio bought him something petty, like chocolate, it just slipped out. A furious blush coated Lovino's cheeks.

"Oh tomate~!" Antonio's eyes immediately welled up with tears of joy as he thrust his arms open, wires and tubes flailing about. "I love you so much mi Lovino! Mi amore!"

"AARGH! YOU'RE GONNA GET THE DAMN WIRES TANGLED!" Lovino's cheeks paled and he growled mentally. Great; it was gonna take even longer for Antonio to get better!

He flailed his arms even more frantically. "Oh Lovi I don't care! Just come here this instant and hug me, tomate~!"

"Stop moving your damn arms," Lovino snapped while climbing into the bed. He got wrapped up into Antonio's arms.

Antonio obliged to Lovino's demand gleefully as he wrapped his arms around the younger man, giggling and nuzzling into his hair.

Lovino sighed quietly, getting himself closer to Antonio with light pink cheeks. He sluggishly pulled his arms closer to himself, nuzzling Antonio's chest as a pillow, cheeks darkening.

It was that precise moment that Antonio's doctor walked into the room, freezing in his tracks and his eyes widening.

"..." Lovino stiffened, eyes widening as he heard the door open and shut. An awkward cough was expelled from the doctor in front of the bed.

Antonio felt Lovino stiffen in his arms and looked towards the door, finally noticing the doctor. "Hola, Mr. Doctor, sir!" he smiled cheerfully, having everything he ever needed or wanted in his arms, all fear of his condition pushed to the back of his mind.

Lovino stayed quiet in Antonio's arms, closing his eyes. He hadn't slept at all the night prior. Why? He didn't know...

The doctor coughed into his fist. "Ahem. So I got your test results in, would you like to hear them... Together?" he put emphasis on the last word, gesturing to a tired and blushing Lovino curled up in the Spaniard's arms.

Lovino heard a "Si~" from Antonio and he listened for the doctor's news anxiously and tiredly, ready to fall asleep at any moment.

"For the most part, Mr. Carriedo, you are stable. Most of the tests came back negative, which is a good sign, but you do have swelling in your brain. This could lead to unpredictable seizure activity, but there really isn't anything further that we can do." he looked at the pair somberly.

Lovino sighed. At least it was better than he expected.

Antonio, however, looked terrified, and he reached over to squeeze the younger man's hand in worry.

Lovino squeezed back in reassurance, keeping his eyes closed while yawning quietly.

The worried look in the Spaniard's eyes never left as he spoke. "Lovi! How can you be sleepy right now? I'm scared, tomate..."

Lovino sighed, lifting his head up.

"I know, and everything will be fucking fine, okay? There's no need to," he yawned again, "worry."

"Alright, if you say so..." he glanced back up at the Italian in his arms, attempting a sad smile.

"Don't look so damn sad."

Lovino laid his head back down, closing his eyes.

Antonio didn't reply, his brow remaining wrinkled and his eyes clouded with fear and uncertainty.

Lovino hugged Antonio closer.

Antonio let out a sniffle and his voice was faint on Lovino's ears. "You don't know what it's like, when it happens... I feel trapped in my own mind... It's terrifying." tears welled up in his deep green eyes.

But Lovino heard it. He lifted his head up, blinking slowly and uncertainly.

"Antonio..."

He sniffed again, the dirt tears starting to roll down his cheeks, through squinted eyes.

"Antonio..."

Lovino reiterated, reaching up to wipe the tears away with a sad sigh.

"I know it scares you. It fucking scares me, too. Don't cry, okay? It'll get better; it won't be this fucking shitty. I promise."

Antonio nodded into Lovino's hands as more tears reluctantly fell. He suddenly wrapped the smaller man in his arms and held on, desperate for the contact.

Lovino smiled slightly, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Gracias, mi amore, gracias..." Lovino pretended not to notice Antonio's frame shuddering in his arms.

"You're welcome..."

Antonio finally pulled away from Lovino's grasp, tilting his head to the side. "You know what, Lovi?"

"Hmm?" Lovino looked up.

His eyes, half-lidded, held a tired sparkle to them. "I want to go home. There is a certain desert waiting for me to cook and serve to you."

"Oh?" Lovino's curiousity was sparked as he looked at Antonio, an eyebrow raised.

"Si, mi amore," he smiled wolfishly, which was almost comical with the hospital gown and numerous wires that Antonio had all over him.

Lovino let out a quiet laugh.

"Let's go home, tomate." Antonio smiled warmly and grasped Lovino's hand in his own.

Lovino raised a confused eyebrow. "What?"

Antonio cocked his head. "Home! I don't want to stay here anymore, I want to go home. My head is starting to hurt..."

"As much as I'd fucking love to, we can't exactly leave yet. Well, I can, but I'd like to stay here with you..."

Lovino's cheeks were coated red as he looked at Antonio, wearing a scowl of frustration at the fact that Antonio couldn't leave the hospital yet.

The Spaniard sighed and put an arm around Lovino again. "Okay Lovi... I love you so much, do you know that?" he looked at the Italian sideways and tousled his hair.

"Yes..."

Lovino moved closer to the Spaniard, hugging him gently.

"Good...Bueno." The two sat in silence for a while after that, neither really knowing what to say.

It wasn't awkward though; the silence was really quite comfortable. And Lovino found the silence easy to think in, because no one was yelling or screaming (this included himself), and he didn't have a headache. It was easier to relax, too, because Antonio wasn't babbling about how cute his blush was, or how he looked like a tomato.

And in the end, Antonio did too. These kinds of silences were the best time to observe things around him, namely Lovino. The way his breathing sounds, so calm and smooth, completely contrasting his speaking voice. The way he filled his cheeks with air when he was deep in thought. Sometimes Antonio didn't have to say anything at all to be content, to see again and again exactly why he fell in love with Lovino in the first place.

Lovino sighed quietly as he looked up at Antonio, who was smiling and staring off into space. He laid his head back down, smiling to himself.

Yes, these silences were definitely worth having, and not even what the two had been through was enough to dampen their spirits and push their love for each other to the back of their minds. He glanced over to Lovino once again, wiggling his eyebrows playfully when he met those hazel eyes with his own.

Lovino chuckled quietly, cheeks turning a light pink that was barely visible on his skin.

~OoO~

A few weeks later, Lovino found himself back in his own house. He'd checked out of the hospital a few days after the incident, much to his disbelief. And he'd been able to use some of the food from the grocery trip (none of the frozen food/refrigerated stuff, because it was either spoilt or hot) and he was happy that he finally got to eat some of the chocolate. He was quite happy, actually.

Antonio still had the occasional episode, brief instances where he couldn't move or speak, or his muscles tensed up, but they were getting less frequent and only lasting a few minutes all together. The night he got home from the hospital, he had insisted on making Lovino the Tiramisu, and they shared it together, both of them glad to be home.

So things had gone smoothly and both of them had been out of the hospital for almost a month. Antonio was in the kitchen, preparing paella and spaghetti for dinner that night and Lovino was performing his equivalent of socializing with their dinner guests, Feliciano and Ludwig.

Lovino attempted to be nice to the potato bastard, only addressing him as the potato jerk, which was progress in his mind. He would never address the overly-muscled German as 'Luddy' (Lovino just gagged a little) and didn't get why his brother was so clingy and protective of the potato jerk...

"Hola, mi amigos! Who wants chips and-" Antonio sauntered thorugh the archway connecting the kitchen to the den, gracefully carrying a tray of tortilla chips and salsa, bouncing on the balls of his feet happily before he stopped, and began to stutter. He looked to Lovino, suddenly nervous about having an episode in front of their guests.

While getting up, Lovino told his brother and the macho-potato to "wait a few fucking minutes", and helped Antonio walk into the kitchen, taking the tray and setting it on the counter.

"Ca- ca- Can't- I" Antonio continued to struggle with his words as his arms, now free of their burden, beain to shake. Damn, he'd been fine for four days, why now? He didn't want to scare Feliciano, he knew seeing him like this definitely would. He also didn't like being a burden to Lovino, the one who he was supposed to be taking care of, not the other way around.

Lovino hated it when this happened; Antonio's episodes could last more than a few minutes, and he could only hope this one would be over quickly. Sighing quietly, Lovino sat Antonio down in a stool in front of the island and sat down beside him, rubbing Antonio's arm while quietly saying words of comfort, which was what he could only do during Antonio's episodes. Though, he was slightly worried about Feliciano or macho-potato coming into the kitchen...

Antonio still couldn't speak without stuttering intensely, but Lovino had helped to stop the shaking. He couldn't stand this, being vulnerable...He wasn't used to being cared for, he was always on top, the one being the father figure. He gave up trying to talk, and sighed.

"Fratello? Is Toni okay...? Feliciano poked his head around the archway, tears already pricking his eyes.

"Si," Lovino answered while looking over at Feliciano. He attempted a smile. "Fratello, go back and talk to Ludwig," he supressed a shudder and held back a few noises of disgust, "okay? I need to talk to Antonio for a few more minutes. Don't cry, and don't fucking worry."

Feliciano nodded and locked eyes with Antonio for a moment before wiping his eyes and joining a flustered Ludwig in the other room. Antonio looked at his lap in embarrassment.

"Toni, it's fine. Things like this happen sometimes," Lovino spoke quietly, continuing to rub Antonio's arm in some form of comfort.

"G-Gracias, tomate..." Antonio had finally gotten his voice back and was pretty much back to normal. "I never really get used to them... Is Feli okay? I don't want him to worry..." he reached for Lovino's hand.

"Do you want me to go check?" Lovino realized they never actually told anyone about the accident. Weird...

Antonio wrinkled his brow in worry and exhaustion and nodded, slipping his hand into Lovino's and twining their fingers together. Damn when did he start feeling so young... "Let's do it together."

Lovino smiled slightly, "Okay. That's fine by me..."

Antonio gulped and put on a faint smile as well, rising from the stool and walking into the den to find a whimpering Feli cuddling up to a sympathetic and confused Ludwig.

Lovino blinked, and then his eyes narrowed, perfectly good mood narrowing.

Antonio caught the look of seething with hatred coming from Lovino and he elbowed him in the ribs playfully, smiling.

Lovino looked up at Antonio, pouting as if to say, 'Awh, no fair...'

He giggled and reached over to ruffle the Italian's hair. Ludwig coughed into his fist and cleared his throat, getting the duo's attention.

Lovino blushed slightly in embarrassment.

"So..." Ludwig began, but was cut off by a frantic Feliciano. "Toni! Are you okay? What happened in there? You couldn't talk and Luddy sometimes says he wishes I couldn't talk and I usually laugh but it looked really scary and I was really worried about you!"

"Feliciano..." Lovino sighed quietly as he squeezed Antonio's hand, "there was a car accident about a month back..."

Ludwig sat up straighter and grabbed Feliciano's hand as the younger Italian gasped loudly.

"And...we were both injured. I had a minor concussion and got out after a few days, but Antonio..." Lovion lokoed up at Antonio, frowning.

The Spaniard in question picked up the explanation there, "I had a severe concussion and there is swelling in my brain. I..." he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly with the hand not holding Lovino's, "...have seizures." he glanced nervously over at Lovino.

"The seizures don't happen too often, though..."

"Right!" Antonio nodded happily, smiling an encouraging smile at Feliciano, not too worried about Ludwig. "i haven't had one until just now for four days!"

Lovino smiled slightly, "And before that, it was about a week, seven days."

Antonio nodded happily at the couple sitting before them, but Feli still didn't look convinced, and Ludwig's brow was crinkled in deep thought. "So..." Feli started softly, "...You both are okay?" he squeezed Ludwig's hand, not taking his eyes off of his brother and Antonio, and Ludwig squeezed back reassuringly.

"Yes. It could've been way fucking worse," Lovino said softly, looking up at Antonio while frowning slightly.

Antonio nods somberly and put an arm around Lovino's waist.

Lovino sighed quietly while looking back at Feliciano and Ludwig.

"Thank you both for letting us know, we appreciate being notified of these kinds of things." Ludwig said gruffly, but not unkindly, and wrapped an arm around Feliciano sympathetically.

"You're welcome," Lovino said begrudgingly.

Antonio gave a warm smile just as Feli did the same to Ludwig. "So." Antonio said after a quick deep breath, clapping his hands together, "Who's hungry?"

"I am!" Feliciano yelled out enthusiastically, giggling. "Me too," Lovino followed up.

Antonio laughed light-heartedly and made to re-enter the kitchen, behind an excited Feliciano dragging a sighing Ludwig by the hand, the Italian's worry disappearing at the prospect of food. He stayed back long enough to pull Lovino close and gently touch their noses together. "Thank you, Lovi, for earlier," he pecked a kiss to the Italian's nose, "now how about some spaghetti?"

Lovino smiled, "Sounds good to me." The two walked into the kitchen, hand in hand.

~oOo~

**A/N: **Please do review! :D


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